How to Clean a Waffle Maker

A waffle maker is an important part of your breakfast. In fact, it’s an additional luxury to eat delicious fluffy waffles at home. But it is also essential to know how to clean a waffle maker easily. The waffle maker gets messy with usage and needs a proper cleaning procedure. There are various ways to clean different types of waffle makers. Let’s take a look at some of the best waffle maker cleaning ways.

How to Clean a Waffle Maker

Cleaning an Electric Waffle Maker with Non-Removable Plates

First of all, unplug the waffle iron and let it cool properly. Many modern electric waffle irons are available with nonstick plates. For proper cleaning, it is essential to clean them without immersing in water.

Take a paper towel and remove excess oil from the waffle iron. Most people don’t use oil in nonstick waffle iron but if you did, there must be some puddles of grease. They can be removed with a dry paper towel. Fold the paper towel in the point to push it between the iron ridges.

Take a soft bristled brush and remove the large crumbs. Often it happens that dried batter stuck in the ridges. Brush away the large pieces with the help of a soft-bristled kitchen brush. Such type of kitchen brush doesn’t damage the non-stick surface of a waffle maker.

There may be heavy batter dried to the waffle iron, it can be seriously annoying to lose and remove them. The best idea is to soften the batter up first. Take a clean rag or a dish towel and soak it with warm water. Before placing it on the waffle maker, ring it out to avoid dripping. Now place it on the waffle maker and close it. Give it a few minutes to sit properly. The heat and the moisture from the rag will loosen up the pesky crumbs.

Rubber kitchen utensils are ideal for cleaning a waffle iron. The rubber doesn’t scratch the surface and the thin and malleable structure helps to get in between the waffle iron rows. After softening the dried batter with the wet rag, use a rubber spatula to remove the remaining batter off.

The sponge can also be used to remove the loosened batter. But use the one specially made for nonstick surfaces.

Take a damp cloth but make sure it’s not wet. Because you don’t want the water to get in the electrical parts of the waffle iron as it can damage your waffle maker next time you turn it on. Clean everything that looks dirty or has batter on it.

How to Clean a Waffle Iron with Removable Plates

Unplug the waffle iron and allow it to cool properly. Follow the manufactures instruction and remove the plate from the waffle maker.

Immerse the waffle maker plates in the warm water. You can do this in the sink but a shallow dish of warm water can be very useful. Remember never add soap to the water for such cleaning. Because nonstick plates surface can deteriorate by doing this.

Gently clean the iron plates with brush or sponge. Use sponge or brush that is specially made for non-stick surfaces. You don’t want to damage the plate while cleaning.

Use warm water to rinse the waffle gird plates. Water will remove the remaining crumbs. Turn the plates to a vertical position so that the warm water can easily run through the ridges and rinse the spots which are missed with rag, sponge or brush. The dishwasher can damage the non-stick surface of the waffle iron. This method can be useful to prevent damages.

Give proper time to waffle maker plates to dry. Place the plates on the drying deck or on a dish towel on the counter. For quick drying, you can use a paper towel or a dry cloth. Just make sure that the plates are completely dry before putting them back in the waffle maker.

Don’t forget to clean the outside of the waffle iron. You can use a damage cloth to clean the exterior surface. Be careful that the water doesn’t enter into the electrical parts of the iron.

Useful Tips to Maintain Waffle Maker

Before cleaning the waffle maker, it is important to read the manufacturer instructions.

Don’t submerge the electric waffle maker in the water.

Never use metal or sharp tools to eliminate the cooked waffles or to remove caked-on batter.

If you don’t have kitchen brush, use an old toothbrush for removing crumbs.

Don’t use spray-on cooking oil. Use a pastry brush instead to lightly paint the waffle grids with oil.